Buttonholers



Sept; 1, 1 I B. s. NICKERSON 3,146,741

'BUTTONHOLERS Filed March 10, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l Illlllllllll fir, 7

Sept. 1964 B. s. NICK-ERSON' BUTTONHOLIYZRS Filed Mal-ch10, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Basil 5. N/c/ferson BY $72M 6PM 46 ATTORNEYs United States Patent 3,146,741 BUTTONHOLERS Basil S. Nickerson, North Haven, Conn, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Mite Corporation, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 94,733 1 Claim. (Cl. 112-77) This invention relates to buttonhole attachments and relates more particularly to an attachment for a conventional household sewing machine to enable the machine operator to stitch around buttonholes.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide a relatively simple and inexpensive device for attachment to a sewing machine in place of the usual presser foot, which device may be employed in the machine stitching of buttonholes.

Another object is to provide an attachment such as characterized above which may effect a Zigzag stitch.

Still another object is to provide an attachment comprising novel cam means for camming the material-feeding foot of the attachment in and out to encircle the buttonhole with stitching, and to further provide an adjustment for the cam means to vary the in-and-out strokes of the foot in accordance with the dimensions of the buttonhole.

A further object is to provide, in an attachment such as characterized above, means to vary the spacing of stitches around a buttonhole in accordance with the dimensions of the buttonhole.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a buttonhole attachment embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the attachment partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary bottom view of the attachment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating two buttonholes of different sizes and showing the stitching effected by the attachment.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention I have shown in the drawings a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines comprising a main frame consisting of a base plate 10. There is provided in the attachment the usual adapter 12 by which the device may be secured to the presser bar of a sewing machine, and extending rearwardly from this adapter is a part 13 for supporting a part of the mechanism as will appear heerinafter. Slidably mounted adjacent the under side of the base plate is the feed blade 14, the blade being provided with a slot 15 (FIG. 3), the function of which will appear hereinafter, and the blade being provided at its forward end with a feed foot 16 having a slot 17 therethrough and pivoted to the blade as at 18 for vertical swinging movement. The foot 16 may have a roughened under surface 19 so that it will cling to the work and effect the movement thereof in the longitudinal forward and reverse feeding movements of the foot with the blade 14, and also in the lateral movements of the foot-carrying blade. Cetrtain of these lateral movements effect the zigzag stitch along the sides of the buttonhole while other lateral movements of the blade enable the operator to sew around the ends of the buttonhole.

The feed blade 14 is pivoted to the base plate 10 by means of a revoluble shaft 20 extending upwardly through the base plate It The last-named shaft extends through the slot 15 in the blade and is provided with an enlarge- 3,145,741 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 ment 21 on its lower end to clamp the blade and its associated elements against the under side of the base plate 10. The shaft 20 is threaded (FIG. 4) throughout a portion of its length, and on the upper end thereof an adjusting knob 22 is threaded. The shaft 20 is also threaded into a sleeve member 23 supported on the upper surface of the base plate, as best shown in FIG. 4. The sleeve member 23 is revoluble with the shaft 20 and supports the latter vertically.

In the illustrated form, shown by way of example, the attachment is of the zigzag type and the base plate 10 is provided with laterally spaced-apart upstanding walls 24 and 25 which rotatably receive the respective ends of a shaft 26 on which a rotary cam wheel 27 is fixed (FIG. 4) as by a screw 28, the cam wheel being located intermediate the last-named side walls and having a sinuous cam track 29 on the periphery thereof to cooperate with a cam follower pin 30. The pin 30 extends through the base plate with clearance and has an enlarged head 31 closely received in the slot 15 in the feed blade for imparting swinging movement to the blade. The cam follower pin 39 is shouldered as at 32 and has a reduced threaded portion 33 extending upwardly through a tapped hole 33 formed in the distal end portion of a lever 34. The upper end portion of the follower pin 39 axially receives a roller 35 thereon which extends into the track 29 of the cam wheel 27 for cooperation therewith. The other end portion of the lever 34 is pivotally supported on the sleeve member 23 which has a flange overlying a portion of the last-mentioned lever, as shown in FIG. 4.

To oscillate the follower pin 30 through movement of the cam wheel 27 and thereby oscillate the feed blade to effect a zigzag stitch, the usual fork arm 36 is provided. The last-named arm cooperates in the usual manner with the needle bar (not shown) of the sewing machine. The fork arm 36 is pivoted on the shaft 26, which shaft has fixed thereto a ratchet wheel 37 which cooperates in the usual manner with a pivotally mounted spring-pressed pawl 38 carried by the fork arm. Hence when reciprocatiug motion is imparted to the fork arm 36 through reciprocating movement of the needle bar, the ratchet wheel 37 is rotated in a step-by-step manner and effects similar rotation of the cam wheel 27. The movement imparted to the cam follower pin 30 effects oscillatory movement of the feed blade which feeds the Work through the foot 16 in directions to obtain a zigzag stitch.

To effect longitudinal feeding movement of the feed blade 14, that is, outward movement of the blade along one side of the buttonhole and inward movement along the other, a cam disk 39 is provided in angularly rigid relation with the shaft 20. Also angularly rigid with the shaft 20 in the illustrated form is a cam disk 40 which effects lateral swinging movements of the feed blade to enclose the ends of the button hole with stitching. The last-mentioned cam disk may have the shape indicated in FIG. 3 and lies within the slot 15 in the feed blade for operative engagement therewith. Both the cam disks 39 and 40 are mounted on an out-of-round portion 41 of the shaft 20, the disk 39 lying below the disk 40. As best shown in FIG. 3, the cam disk 39 is in the illustrated form of pear shape and has camming engagement with a downturned flange 42 at the rear extremity of the feed blade 14. The cam disk 39 also has camming engagement with a cross member 43 secured to the under side of the feed blade 14 as by fasteners 44. It has been previously indicated that the adapter 12 for support from the presser bar has a fixed part 13 for support of a part of the attachment mechanism. The part 13 is sandwiched between the upstanding walls 24 and 25 of the base plate and secured thereto as by fasteners 45.

The cam disk 39 on the out-of-round portion 41 of the 9 shaft 20 has a slot 46 (FIG. 3) receiving the last-named portion of the shaft Ztl, and the construction and arrange:- ment is such that the cam disk 39 is slidably adjustable: on the pin 20 to vary the extent of in-and-out throw of the feed blade in accordance with the length of the button-- hole to be sewn. When the shaft 20 occupies the adjusted portion in the slot 46 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the throw of the feed blade is greatest. In this position the shaft 20 occupies one end of the slot 46. When the shaft 2th is shifted relatively in the slot 46 toward the other end thereof for adjustment purposes, the throw of the feed. blade is reduced. To fix the cam disk with reference to the shaft 20 in any one of a number of predetermined positions of the shaft in the slot 46, an elongated spring member 47 of leaf form is provided, one end of the member 47 being secured to the under side of the cam disk: 39 as by fasteners 48. The member 47 is provided with. a series of longitudinally spaced openings or holes 49 through any one of which a lug 49 on the lower extremity of the shaft 29 may extend when the disk 39 is in the de-- sired adjusted position thereof. It will be manifest from the foregoing that the member 47 releasably holds the disk 3% in adjusted position. The member 47 has a free: end which may be bent downwardly quickly and easily by a manual operation to release the shaft 20 and permit: sliding adjustment of the cam disk 39 on the last-mentioned; shaft.

To drive the cam disk 39 to effect the in-and-out throw of the feed blade as well as drive the cam disk 40 effecting the lateral throw or swinging movement of the feed blade at the ends of the buttonhole, all in a step-by-step manner on each upward swinging movement of the fork arm 36, a connecting rod 50 is provided which has one end thereof pivoted as at 51 to a lug 52 on the fork arm. Intermediate the ends thereof the connecting rod 50 has an operative driving connection to a oneway clutch mechanism, indicated generally at 53, which drives the shaft 20 through the sleeve member 23 and thereby effects driving movement of the cam disks 39 and 40 to effect movements of the feed blade in longitudinal directions and also laterally at the ends of the buttonhole so that the buttonhole may be completely encircled with stitching. As previously described, the feeding blade, as it feeds the work to stitch around a buttonhole, also has an oscillating movement to provide a zigzag stitch. A clutch mechanism indicated generally at 54 is provided to tend to prevent reverse rotation of the sleeve member 23 and the pin 20.

The clutch mechanism 53 comprises a plate-like member 55 having an irregular opening 56 (FIG. 2) formed therein through which the sleeve member 23 extends. A gen erally S-shaped spring 57 is housed within the opening 56 and has one end portion thereof secured by the means defining this opening, as shown in FIG. 2. The other end of the last-mentioned spring bears against a wedge member 58 of circular form also located within the opening 56 and urges the last-mentioned member in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, that is, in a direction opposite the direction in which the sleeve member 23 and the pin 2% are rotated to drive the cam disks 39 and 4-0. The construction and arrangement of the above-described parts of the clutch mechanism 53 are such that when the plate-like member 55 is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2, the wedge member 58 is wedged between a portion of the means defining the opening 56 in the member 55 and the sleeve member 23, and upon becoming wedged therebetween, rotates the shaft 20 through the sleeve member 23 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2. Any tendency of the plate-like member 55 to rotate in the opposite direction tends to release the wedge member 53 under the influence of the spring 57.

The plate-like member 55 is driven in a direction to drive the sleeve member 23 and pin 20 through the connecting rod 50 which extends loosely and slidably through an upstanding lug 59 formed on the member 55. At the side of the lug 59 remote from the fork arm 36 a portion of the i connecting rod is threaded as at 60 to receive an adjusting knob 61 forming an abutment engageable with the lug 59. The construction and arrangement of parts is such that on upward movement of the fork arm 36 the connecting rod 56 is moved slidably forward in the lug 59. During this movement of the connecting rod 50 the adjusting knob 61 engages the lug 59 and moves the rotary plate-like member 55 in a clockwise or driving direction as viewed in FIG. 2. In other words, through the adjusting knob 61, the connecting rod 50 has a lost-motion driving connection with the clutch member 55, the degree of lost motion and, therefore, the degree of rotary movement of the member 55 on upward swinging movement of the fork arm 36 being dependent on the position of the knob 61 on the connecting rod 50. When the knob 61 is adjusted on the connecting rod 56 to increase the lost motion between the latter and the clutch member 55, the stitches are formed around the buttonhole in more closely spaced relation to one another, while when the degree of lost motion is decreased, the stitch spacing is increased. It will be manifest from the foregoing that the knob 61 is adjusted on the connecting rod 50 to vary the number of stitches around a buttonhole in accordance with the length of the buttonhole. At the side of the abutment 59 on the movable clutch-operating member 55 nearest the fork arm 36 there is provided on the connecting rod 50 an abutment or pin 5% to engage the abutment 59 and move the operating member 55 in the opposite direction upon downward movement of the fork arm 36.

To provide a visual indication of the adjusted position of the knob 61 a spring member 62 is provided, the lastnamed member also serving to prevent dislocation of the adjusting knob 62 on the connecting rod 50. The spring i member 62 may be constructed conveniently from a strip of spring steel and is shown to advantage in FIG. 1. The member 62 has an end portion which is generally of inverted U shape, this end portion being indicated at 63. The connecting rod 50 extends through both legs of the last-mentioned end portion, the connecting rod being threaded into the inner or forward leg and having an outof-round rear extremity extending through a correspondingly formed opening in the rear leg to prevent angular dislocation of the member 62 on the connecting rod 50. The adjusting knob 61 is provided with circumferentially arranged grooves or serrations 61 to cooperate with a forwardly extending portion 64 of the spring member 62, the arrangement being such that this portion of the member 62 has releasable engagement in one of the aforementioned grooves of the adjusting knob 61 to prevent inadvertent rotation of the knob. The other end portion of the spring member 62 is upstanding and free and provides a sight indicator, this end portion being indicated at 65. To provide reference points on the knob 61 which may be aligned with the last-mentioned end portion of the spring the knob may be provided with a plurality of axially spaced circumferential grooves 66.

The one-way clutch mechanism which tends to prevent reverse rotation of the cam disks 39 and 40 is similar to the clutch mechanism 53 and need not be described in detail. The clutch mechanism 54 comprises a stationary plate-like part 67 of the base plate which has an opening 68 therein corresponding to the opening 56 in the clutch member 55, and the opening 68 houses a spring 69 and a wedge member in corresponding to the previously described spring 57 and wedge member 53. The wedge member 78 coacts with the sleeve member 23 and the plate-like part 67 to tend to prevent rotation of the sleeve member 23 together with the shaft 2% in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2. As indicated in FIG. 4 the feed blade and the sleeve member 23 are separated by a plate part 71 through which the shaft 26 may extend in revoluble relation thereto, the part 71 extending under portions of the base plate It It will be manifest from the foregoing description that there is provided an improved buttonhole attachment having relatively few and inexpensive parts. The cam disk 39 which effects in-and-out movements of the feed blades to provide sttitching along the sides of a buttonhole and which is driven form the fork arm is quickly and easily adjustable to enable the operator to stitch buttonholes of different lengths. The cam disk 41 effects lateral movements of the feed blade at the ends of the buttonhole so that the entire buttonhole may be encircled with stitching automatically. It will be understood from the foregoing that the cam disk 40 which has dwell surface thereon operates in unison with the cam disk 39 and effects motion of the feed blade only at the ends of the buttonhole. There is also porvided novel means to drive the cams 39 and 40, and there is further provided novel means for varying the spacing of stitches around a buttonhole in accordance with the dimensions of the buttonhole. Still another feature of the attachment is that it may effect a zigzag stitch around a buttonhole. Hence it will be apparent that, while the attachment is a relatively simple and inexpensive device, it is very flexible.

While only one form of the buttonhole attachment has been illustrated in the drawings and described above, it will be apparent to those versed in the art that the attachment may take other forms and is susceptible of various changes in details without departing from the principles of the invention and the scope of the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In a buttonhole attachment for sewing machines, a base plate, a fork arm pivoted on said plate for oscillatory movement, an enlongated longitudinally slotted feed blade supported from said plate for longitudinal sliding movement, oscillatory movement and lateral swinging movement, a vertical rotary shaft mounted for rotation in said plate and extending through the slot in the blade, cam means fixed to said shaft and engageable with the blade for effecting lengthwise movement of the latter, means between the fork arm and the shaft for driving said cam means, and means driven from the fork arm for effecting said oscillatory movement of the blade and including a pivot for said swinging movement, said swinging movemerit effecting stitching around the ends of the buttonhole and said oscillatory movement effecting a zigzag stitch, said means for effecting swinging movement of the blade comprising a cam angularly rigid with said shaft and engageable with the feed blade, the last-named cam being operatively housed in the slot in the blade, and the lastnamed cam being superposed on said cam means for effecting sliding movement of the blade, said cam means comprising a cam engageable with cam surfaces formed on the under part of said blade and said cam means being slidably adjustable on said shaft in a transverse direction to vary the extent of sliding movement of the blade, said means between the fork arm and the shaft comprising a unidirectional clutch mechanism having an operating member, and the clutch mechanism having an adjustable lost-motion connection to the fork arm whereby the extent of movement of said cam means on each movement of the fork arm may be varied, said lost-motion connection between the fork arm and said clutch mechanism comprising a connecting rod having one end thereof pivoted to the fork arm, said rod having a portion intermediate the ends thereof slidable through an abutment on the operating member of the clutch mechanism, the last-named rod having a member axially adjustable thereon and engageable with said abutment to move the operating member of the clutch mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,018 Palmer July 15, 1884 332,426 Palmer Dec. 15, 1885 374,837 Johnson Dec. 13, 1887 390,539 Weeks et al. Oct. 2, 1888 406,800 Wallick July 9, 1889 444,846 Palmer Jan. 20, 1891 678,398 Hargrave et a1. July 16, 1901 688,998 Hargrave Dec. 17, 1901 1,560,282 Mattingly Nov. 3, 1925 2,660,138 Russell Nov. 24, 1953 3,001,490 Brauer Sept. 26, 1961 3,051,106 Caldwell et al. Aug. 28, 1962 

